Leeds Grand Mosque
| Leeds Grand Mosque | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Islam |
| Leadership | Imam(s): Sheikh Dr Mohammed Taher |
| Location | |
| Location | Leeds, England |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Mosque |
| Date established | 1994 |
| Capacity | 1,500+ |
| Website | |
| www | |
Leeds Grand Mosque (LGM) is a mosque in Leeds with a Friday congregation of 1,500.[1][2] It is located at 9 Woodsley Road, Hyde Park, Leeds, LS6 1SN West Yorkshire, England. The mosque has a diverse and ethnically mixed congregation with facilities for both male and female worshippers.[1] The Friday prayer sermon is also delivered in English also alongside the Arabic.[2]
The mosque's Imam is Sheikh Dr Mohammed Taher.[3] The resident Islamic scholar to the mosque is Sheikh Abdullah Al Judai’.[3]
It is the home of the first Muslim Scout Group in Leeds.[4] 15 Scouts were invested at the launch in 2006.[5]
Building
It was originally Sacred Heart Church designed by Derek Walker, completed in 1965 and described as "One of the most striking churches to be built in the 1960s".[6] The design is Brutalist based on a concrete frame clad with pre-cast panels of Cornish granite aggregate.[6] It closed in 1993 and was sold and converted in 1994, with funding from Saif Bin Muhammad Al-Nehayyan of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.[7] The chancel was converted into a smaller worship hall used on weekdays, and a women's gallery was constructed at the rear of the main hall, later augmented by converting the choir gallery into a second women's gallery. The stained glass window and obvious Christian symbols were of course removed, and facilities for wudu installed.[6]
The main hall provides a large open space which has been used for experiments in human echo-location.[8]
In 2013 a freak storm lifted part of the roof off, resulting in extensive rain damage.[9]
Facilities
- Male prayer hall
- Female prayer hall
- Lecture room
- Basement - used for multiple activities
- Library
- Catering kitchen
- Management office, storage rooms, and washing facilities for both males and females
- Fenced car park for 20 cars
- Gardens around the mosque
- Linked house, rented as a source of income
References
- ^ a b Leeds Grand Mosque Home Page
- ^ a b The Times, 24 August 2002 "At your service" by Daniel Crewe
- ^ a b "LGM team".
- ^ www.cycscouts.org.uk 1st Muslim Scout Group Launches
- ^ Yorkshire Evening Post 5 December 2006 "City gets its first Muslim Scouts"
- ^ a b c John Minnis & Trevor Mitchell (2007) Religion and Place in Leeds (English Heritage) ISBN 978-1-905624-48-5
- ^ History of Leeds Grand Mosque
- ^ Waters, D., & Abulala, H. (2001) Proceedings of the 2001 International Conference on Auditory Display, Espoo, Finland, July 29-August 1, 2001, pages 191-196
- ^ Yorkshire Evening Post 7 December 2013 "SOS call at Leeds mosque left exposed by freak storm"
External links
53°48′24″N 1°34′05″W / 53.80653°N 1.56801°W
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